Core Competencies in Animal Physiology

The past decade has seen greater emphasis placed on competency‐based education in the biomedical sciences, as evidenced in the calls to reform by AAAS (Vision and Change) and AAMC/HHMI (Scientific Foundations for Future Physicians). A working group of animal physiology instructors, established at the 2014 APS Institute of Teaching and Learning (ITL), formulated a list of ten core competencies required of students to fully master animal physiology. These competencies address core concepts such as body size, life history, phenotypic plasticity, trade offs, adaptations to common environmental challenges, adaptations to extreme environments, and evolutionary constraints. While relevant to human physiology, these concepts are most clearly understood from the perspective of animal physiology. The core concepts were unpacked into constituent ideas and learning objectives specific to each core competency were developed. Comparison to the foundational chapters of several widely‐used textbooks in animal physiology showed substantial consonance but also revealed that coverage of some concepts was scant or lacking. Further refinement of the competencies will continue through consultation with a wider group of instructors in animal physiology. Formulation of the core competencies in animal physiology provides faculty with demonstrable and measurable outcomes for student learning and sets the stage for developing assessment tools designed to evaluate student understanding of the core concepts in animal physiology.